(Quebec) Three orders governing the practice of health professionals, namely the College of Physicians, the Order of Nurses and Nurses of Quebec and the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec, affirms like the Ministry of Health that it is necessary to “explore all the alternatives to the hospital, whether existing or to be developed”, in the context where “the capacities of the health network have reached a saturation point”.
Posted at 12:40 p.m.
This public release of the orders comes the day after the presentation by Quebec of a new Guide for the prioritization and management of short-term hospitalizations.
“The fifth wave of the pandemic is creating an exceptional situation in hospitals for the next 4 to 6 weeks. The forecasts for the number of hospitalized patients, both in care units and in intensive care, confirm that the capacities of the health network have reached a saturation point”, note the College of Physicians and the two other professional orders.
“The usual resources for certain treatments are no longer available. Due to this lack of human and material resources, it is necessary in particular to prioritize urgent and vital situations, to question the relevance of hospitalization or to treat patients outside the hospital who do not need the technical platform”, they add.
In its presentation on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health and Social Services indicated that it was essential that the orders supervising health professionals adopt the proposed “temporary” standards. Quebec is actively seeking these days to free up patients as much as possible who can continue their care outside hospitals, where the reception capacity is exceeded due to the wave of infections with the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
In its plan, Quebec also plans to “redefine the minimum quality of care in the context of a pandemic” for a period of four to six weeks “with a view to treating as many people as possible at lower intensity rather than treating fewer people at quality optimum”.
On this subject, the College of Physicians, the Order of Nurses of Quebec and the Order of Pharmacists state that health professionals “must despite everything continue to respect the standards of good practice”.
“In a context of limited resources, certain choices must be made to respond in the most efficient way possible to the serious and urgent health problems of the population. We must explore all the alternatives to the hospital, whether existing or to be developed,” they add.
“This period of crisis entails exceptional challenges for professionals. The College of Physicians, the Order of Nurses and the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec recall that their members must respect their ethical obligations, but agree that the interpretation of the codes of ethics must take into account the availability of resources, at the when the care will have been provided or the services offered”, continue the orders, saying they are “vigilant as to the quality of the care offered to the public”.